Google grants cannabis group $240,000

In AdWords advertising and other services

Google Grants, the non-profit version of AdWords, was created ten years ago to help anyone with a good cause and now it’s funding ganja farmers.

Google has decided to award $240,000 in AdWords advertising and other services to Michigan Compassion, a non-profit set up to promote the benefits of medical cannabis.

The decision raised a few eyebrows in the blogosphere, as it seems to fly in the face of Google’s own AdWords policies.

Google doesn’t like to meddle with tobacco or prescription drugs, but Michigan Compassion is not a direct retailer for cannabis or drug paraphernalia. Speaking of which, Google does not allow the direct sale of drug paraphernalia, but it does allow the sale of vaporizers, provided they are promoted as humidifiers or aromatherapy devices.

A Google spokesperson told Search Engine Watch that the Michigan Compassion ads are designated as non-family safe and they are approved only in states where medical marijuana is legal, which tend to be the same states that don’t teach creationism in schools, for whatever reason.